Good thing they were both adults, then.
"I guess," Tord said half-heartedly. Such lessons were never taught to him when he was a child. Oh, he heard the phrase before, certainly, but those he heard it from never cared to drill it into his head. Not to mention his parents had never been one to focus on age unless they were trying to be insulting. Tord lost count of how many times he heard something along the lines of, "Oh come on! You're ten years old, you should know how to multiply by now!" or "I wouldn't expect such behavior from a thirteen year old," or (when their jabs were not directed at him) "Christ, you aged ten years since we got married."
Thankfully it quickly occurred to Tord that there was no sense dwelling on his shitty family when he was around Tom...or when it was his birthday. He separated himself from them years ago; now was a time to celebrate, not to mope. "Ahh, sorry, Tom." Tord laughed softly and took another sip of his drink. His fingers drummed carefully against the Styrofoam cup when he set it back down. "It's only been what, five minutes? Ten? Ehh...either way, it seems I'm already crashing my own party. I do hope you'll forgive me!"
But what positive thing was there to talk about when Tord led such a secretive and otherwise shitty life? He hummed thoughtfully, eyes darting this way and that, until at last they settled on the table so he would not look at Tom when he said the first thing that came to mind:
"I'm glad you came here to see me."
Tom had fell silent after the other's reply, his head turning slightly to look in a different direction after a few moments. God, he wished he was better at conversations. He felt like he had so much to say, yet nothing came to mind ― it was frustrating, especially when he was trying his hardest not to accidentally turn this visit awkward.
He snapped out of it as the silence was suddenly broken by Tord, turning his gaze back to him once again, blinking a bit. Crashing his own party ? Well, that's not fun. He promptly shook his head, a smile appearing on his features as he reassured the other. " Oh, no ― it's quite alright, Tord. " No need for any apologies.
Tom had went to take another sip of his drink, but hesitated when he'd heard Tord's comment. After a brief moment, he gave a small laugh, lowering his cup back onto the table. " Hey, it's ― it's no problem, really. I mean, it was the least I could do, " he replied quietly.
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